Crescent City Sins

Chapter 11: Exposed

The girl scanned the room until she spotted him in a dark corner. He sat arrogantly in a wingback chair with ornate wood carved spirals. The man was slunk down in the seat, his legs spread wide and a glass of whiskey in his hand. His right eyebrow arched in amusement, a smug smile twitched at the corner of his lip. Marion looked down to see what manner of dress up he had put on her this time. Nothing. She was still wearing only the lace underwear she'd gone to bed in. She looked down at herself then back at him indignantly. He merely shrugged, taking the last sip of his drink and setting it aside. The smile on his face growing wider. He was quite enjoying the fire that was boiling up inside of her.

This only served to anger her more as she flew from the bed and marched towards him. The young woman stood in front of him, breasts heaving with a simmering rage. The more he looked upon her the funnier it became to him. Dorian's smile suddenly broke out into a deep chuckle, quickly replaced by shock as she reached down and slapped him across the face. He suddenly snapped his legs closed and sat back in the chair. Faster then the girl could comprehend, he'd pulled her down to his lap into a straddling position. She gasped in fear as he held her there firmly by the hips, his nails digging into the tender skin. His own rage seething in his mind, a murderous look in his eyes. The vampire swallowed hard as he looked upon her, trying to shove back down the urge to just kill her and get it over with.

One hand moved to her thigh, gripped tightly and dangerously close to the edge of her lace panties. The other moved up and grabbed her roughly by the wrist. She was but a play thing, something to make the endless time pass by. Why wouldn't she bend to his will? Times have surely changed since he made this deal with her ancestors all those years ago. Humans had no reverence for the immortals anymore, this world was a different place. Dorian did not care emotionally for her, he had not cared for anyone in a very long time. He merely brought pleasure to his plays things as a means to control them and well, for his own amusement. He brought the delicate skin of her wrist to his mouth and bit down, closing his eyes for a moment as he drank. The man wanted her to feel the pain this time. He had no patience to mask it with pleasure after the stunt she just pulled. When he opened his eyes and pulled away, the puncture wounds were already starting to close.

He was almost startled as he looked upon her next. Her bottom lip trembled. This woman who only a moment ago looked as though she could lop his head off was suddenly so vulnerable. A tear welled up and fell from her eye. The pale green of her irises sparkled with emotion in the flickering of the candlelight. Something long ago forgotten stirred deep down inside of him. He tore his gaze from the young woman's face back to her wrist. He had been too rough and one of the puncture marks let out a single drop of blood. Tenderly he cleaned it with his tongue before placing a whisper of a kiss, willing it to close up. When he returned to her gaze there was confusion there. Panic welled up in the vampire and his long fingers shot up to her face. Tracing his fingers over her eyelids, he willed her to go to sleep. Dorian caught the girl in his strong arms as she collapsed into a deep slumber. He carried her over to the bed and swiftly made his way toward the exit.

* * *

Marion awoke to the sun shooting rays through her balcony door. She lay there for awhile, concentrating hard to remember the last details of her dream. She had been so angry with him but the frustration of everything that had come to pass welled up a deep sadness in her that had spilled out of her eyes. While her anger seemed to amuse him, her vulnerability did something else. She had watched as the stern lines of his face softened and she swore she almost saw regret there. Maybe even... empathy. He had been so tender with her at that point that she didn't stop him as he kissed her wound to close it. The girl reached down to her wrist, lightly brushing over it with her fingertips. She almost missed the pinhole incisions. They were there, just barely. The young woman was lost in thought for awhile when her phone suddenly buzzed on the nightstand.